


Replaceable

by PaperHatCollection



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-19 23:35:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11324049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaperHatCollection/pseuds/PaperHatCollection
Summary: They say if you put a frog in a pot of water, and slowly turn up the heat, it won't try to escape. Even as it boils to death.A shame White Hat never heard this saying. Maybe he would have noticed he was boiling if he had.





	Replaceable

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to http://chickenwhite.tumblr.com/ for beta reading the first half of this story and suggesting the ending, and http://rachrar.tumblr.com/ for beta reading the second half.

“This,” Black Hat began, presenting his brother with a man that looked a lot like Dr. Flug. But with a bag on your head, White Hat suppose anyone would look like Dr. Flug. “Is Dr. Slys. He’s… a failed clone of Dr. Flug. Consider it a late birthday present.”

Dr. Slys stayed quiet, staring forward in an almost distant way, not seeming to notice or care about the way he was getting traded around like human cattle… or maybe he noticed a little too much. White Hat felt a stab of sympathy for the man, he knew _exactly_ what it felt like for someone to wake up only to find out they were an unwanted clone of the original.

“Knowing what happened to 505,” Black Hat continued, “He’ll just turn out another spineless coward. Besides, I’m sure you’ll coddle any backbone right out of him.”

If Black Hat noticed the way Dr. Slys hands curled into fists, he didn’t show it. Instead, he stepped back, letting go of Slys finally as White Hat approached him. Rather than reach out and snatch him as he knew his brother was so fond of, White Hat offered both his hands, palms up, to Slys.

“My name is White Hat.” he began. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Doctor.” he added a smile, glancing down slightly at the edge of the other’s bag. He never was the best at maintaining eye contact, even when the others ‘eyes’ were large, soulless goggles.

“... Dr. Slys. But you knew that already.” Slys responded, his voice surprisingly dry. Not in that way humans got when they hadn’t had water in too long, but in that ‘I’m not amused’ sort of way. _Huh_ . Maybe Black Hat was wrong about the little guy. White Hat glanced up, only to find his brother had disappeared… of course he had. It wouldn’t be dark and mysterious to just walk out the door like a _normal_ demon, now would it?

“I know just the room for you.” White Hat decided, already deciding that Dr. Slys had a place here. He could use that guest room he had set up for Dr. Flug on the rare, _rare_ occasions he tagged along with Black Hat whenever he visited. White Hat spun on a heel and lead Dr. Slys through the penthouse, unsure if he had Dr. Flug’s memories or not… even so, Flug visited rarely enough he might not even know the way around himself.

“This is your room.” White Hat explained, showing him inside. A few model planes decorated the ceiling and some random posters were on the wall still from Flug’s last visit, which White Hat hoped made things more homey for Dr. Slys. “If you need _anything_ , just ask.” he offered.

“A new lab coat.” Dr. Slys asked, right off the bat. “This one fails to protect the front of my body from anything… something that closes, perhaps.” he suggested, his gaze drifting over the room as he mused.

With a snap of his fingers, the wardrobe was filled with new coats. “Try one on and tell me which one you like.” White Hat offered, waving his hand as the doors flew open.

Slys glanced at the wardrobe, pausing to send an enigmatic look towards White Hat before he slipped the lab coat off his shoulders and let it pool around his feet. White Hat watched as he began to try on various lab coats, testing how they looked in the mirror. They were all tailored to fit him perfectly, it was just a matter of personal taste now.

“I’ll need a lab.” Slys added. “Not much point in having a lab coat if I don’t have a place to do my work.”

That made White Hat paused. “I don’t know if I can get one in the penthouse, though… perhaps something underground?” he suggested.

“I want a plane.” Slys shot back. “We can fly it in circles above the city.”

Hmmm….

“What about a blimp, to keep parked over the building?” White Hat offered. “A built in lab, and all that.”

Dr. Slys seemed to consider as he tried on another coat, observing the way it fit his back. “Very well. A blimp will do. And I like this one. Make the rest the same.”

White Hat tipped his hat, the wardrobe changing as asked. He couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face, enjoying the way Slys observed his reflection like a bird preening its feathers. He was cute, he’d certainly give the man that.

“Anything else?” White Hat asked, just to be sure.

“Yeah,” Slys turned away from the mirror, straightening a sleeve as he spoke. “Do you have any coffee?”

 

* **One Month Later** *

 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out White Hat was touch starved.

White Hat was naturally a social person, but due to his nature and need for a professional appearance at all times, he never quite got to do more than hold the hand of a lady as he kissed it. Slys admittedly didn’t see the point in the gesture, even if it did prove to incite positive reactions in the women he performed it on.

But it was the little things that gave it away. The way Hat’s fingers would brush Slys when passing over a cup of coffee or an essential document, lingering just a touch too long. The moments he hovered around the lab, clearly with something to say but never getting it out. The few times they did bump shoulders, the shudder that passed through Hat was clear as daylight.

Dr. Slys could see an opportunity when it presented itself.

“Slys?” White Hat asked, confusion evident in his voice. Still, the demon remained on the couch as asked. Slys wasn’t in the mood to deal with Hat looming over him.

Slys slipped his coat off and tossed it onto a nearby chair, followed by both gloves. Experimentally, he pressed one hand to White Hat’s chest, fingers splayed to touch as much of the suit as he cold. It felt… _off_. The fabric wasn’t quite fabric, and Slys swore for a second he felt it shudder, ever so faintly, with what could have been Hat’s heart skipping a beat.

He dragged his gaze up, watching the emotions play across Hat’s face. His boss had always been an open book, and now was no exception. The surprise was clear enough, the confusion and the gears turning under that top hat of his. And then- there it was.

His other hand, his left one, moved up to cup Hat’s cheek, thumb running circles just under his monocle. Slow, like clockwork.

“Take off your gloves.” Slys asked. More like an order, but still. Hat morphed them away, getting the job done well enough, allowing Slys to move the hand from Hat’s chest into his hand, intertwining their fingers.

Hat’s free hand moved up, cupping the hand on his cheek and petting it in that same, soothing manner. His one visible eye fluttered close, moments before a content sigh pulled itself out of Hat’s lungs. If he even had lungs. Did demons even need air?

At first, Slys wondered if something was wrong with him. After a moment, it clicked that that green coloring on Hat’s face was most likely a _blush_. How odd. Maybe his blood was a shade of blue.

As much as he enjoyed having Hat in a trance like this, Slys had other things to do. He cleared his throat, breaking whatever spell had come across Hat’s mind.

“Hat.” Slys said. More emotions darted through Hat’s face, uncertainty in his eye, before he pulled away from Slys touch, untangling their hands. Slys barely heard him muttering an apology. A smile crept across his lips, unseen under his bag.

 

* **two weeks later** *

 

“Dr. Slys?” White Hat asked, appearing in the lower levels of the blimp. The lab was large enough it took White Hat a second to scan the room, but still no signs of the Doctor. He couldn't have returned to the penthouse in the time it took White Hat to teleport up here, so Slys had to still be in the blimp.

White Hat _did_ consider taking the elevator up to the next set of rooms like a normal person, but that was too slow, and too loud. If Slys knew White Hat was coming he'd just hide again. This was the fifth day Slys had been in his blimp, and the third time White Hat had to stop Slys from overworking himself this month.

White Hat appeared in the test chambers above the lab, but it too was empty. _Huh_ . Slys couldn’t have gotten back to the penthouse in the time it took White Hat to get here, so Slys had to be in here still. He let his feet carry him from the room, his heels clicking softly against the floor. Some part of him couldn’t shake the feeling there was something _wrong_ , something about the air…

A tongue flicked out to taste the air, White Hat freezing mid step as his one visible eye grew wide. The air tasted strongly of _blood_ . _Human_ blood. A shiver snapped up White Hat’s spine before he turned to smoke and let the scent lead him, reappearing in what seemed to be an operating room.

Dr. Slys was directly in front of him, back to White Hat, not seeming to notice the intrusion. In front of Dr. Slys lay the body of a man, strapped to an operating table and chest cut open, organs exposed to the world. Slys had both his hands in the cavity, pulling out the heart of the man and slipping it into a jar filled with some kind of foul smelling liquid, tightening the lid.

With a sigh, Slys straightened, blood covered gloves feeling along his back, leaving smears on the already splattered fabric. He stepped back before White Hat could react, bumping right into the demon’s chest.

Dr. Slys jerked away, spinning around as he slammed into the table, hands bracing himself as he took in the sight of his boss directly behind him for who-knows-how long. “H-Hat!”

“Dr. Slys, what did you…” White Had began, pausing and gulping as he took in the sight of the human still open on the table. The sight was unexpected, shocking him.

“It’s not like that!” Slys jerked forwards, grabbing White Hat’s hand, staining the glove with blood. Still, the physical contact did help ground White Hat, even if only a little. “He was already dead when I brought him in.” Slys explained. “His death was unrelated to… this. Besides, he donated his body to science… I promise.” Dr. Slys swore, lifting White Hat’s hand to press against his bag.

And with that, some of the tension seeped out of White Hat’s shoulder. Of course, Dr. Slys wouldn’t do something like- he shouldn’t have rushed into things like that. Surly he just needed to… test some projects to make sure they didn’t have unknown and possibly dangerous effects on the human body. Yeah. That.

Still, it was jarring to remember Dr. Slys _had_ been cloned from a villain.

“You need to go to sleep.” White Hat added, intentionally changing the conversation.

Dr. Slys huffed. “I’m fine.” he protested.

White Hat shook his head, smiling faintly. He could _feel_ how tired Slys was from here. “We both know that’s not true, Dr. Slys.” He leaned forward, placing a kiss on Slys bag and closing his eyes, avoiding looking at the body. “Finish up and come to the penthouse as soon as you can, okay?”

White Hat disappeared before Dr. Slys could complain, reappearing in the penthouse and taking a slow, deep breath, ridding his lungs of that smell of blood. How Dr. Slys could work like that… thankfully, White Hat didn’t need to sleep.

He was already making Dr. Slys a cup of coffee for when he came back down. White Hat was pretty sure caffeine normally kept humans awake, but he’d seen Dr. Slys down a cup of extra strong coffee and immediately fall asleep. Maybe it had something to do with his strange clone biology, but caffeine always seemed to calm and relax him. Although, to be fair, Slys didn’t really _like_ extra strong coffee in the first place.

Speaking of whom, White Hat could hear Slys entering the penthouse behind him. Glancing back, he found Slys was no longer wearing his coat of gloves, but he’d replaced his bag. White Hat offered him the cup, smiling.

“Thank you, Hat.” Dr. Slys muttered, sounding tired already. Slys paused as he took the cup, his fingers against White Hats. The moment dragged on as he mused over that fact, before grabbing White Hat’s tie and jerking him down, lifting up his own bag just enough to plant a kiss on White Hat’s cheek, earning a sea green blush across the demon's face.

 

* **three months later** *

 

Taking the time to search for and pick out just the right ingredients had always been the special part, a little way to add that personal touch to your drink. It was a step most people would skip, instead choosing to just use regular name brands, but White Hat liked to take the time to make his coffee extra special.

French roasted coffee beans, two splashes of vanilla creamer, a spoonful of Acacia honey, just a touch of sugar and a little dollop of whipped cream… it had taken a few tries to find exactly what Slys liked, especially when the man mostly complained about it being ‘too dark’ or ‘too thin’ as opposed to _telling_ White Hat what he liked.

But White Hat was proud of himself for figuring out the perfect list of ingredients for a cup of Dr. Slys styled coffee. It had even become a sort of habit at this point for White Hat to make Slys a daily cup. Considering Dr. Slys didn’t let anyone touch anything else he ate, it was always so special for Slys to take a cup from White Hat without complaint.

Though, that didn’t mean Slys didn’t complain about things anyway. The man could be… difficult, to say the least. He was naturally more demanding than Flug had ever been, more willing to stand up for himself and whatever it was he wanted. White Hat had grown used to it by this point, brushing off his more dickish behavior as something Slys couldn’t control.

Days like this, however, made him feel like he’d stepped onto a bear trap. Or a live mine. Maybe a combination of the two. A bear trap that exploded. His brother probably sold one.

“That tastes like _dirty water_ .” Slys spat, wiping the back of his hand with his glove, the mug he’d been drinking from shattered on the ground. White Hat had been _sure_ he’d made the cup exactly right, but maybe he’d messed up somewhere along the line… had he grabbed salt instead of sugar?

It was possible. The guilt of giving Slys a wrongly prepared cup ate at the back of his mind, made his throat feel closed, despite the fact he lacked a need to breathe in the first place. Slys had been working so hard too, wound up from the stress of hitting brick walls in the middle of his inventions. But still… did Slys have to react so severely when something like this happened? At least he hadn’t chucked it directly at White Hat’s head this time.

Sometimes Slys was perfect, and it felt like nothing could go wrong. But despite his lack of experience in the dating department, White Hat knew that every relationship had problems. He wasn’t going to demand Slys had to be absolutely perfect all the time.

“Just…” Slys slumped, holding onto the edges of his table for support, the anger leaving his body in one fluid motion. White Hat couldn’t help the second stab of guilt that passed through him. “Clean this up, please. And get me a second cup, correctly made this time. I need the energy.”

With a snap of his fingers the shards of the former mug, and the liquid that had been spilling across the floor, disappeared. With an apology, White Hat left the room.

 

* **two days later** *

 

“Do you love me, Hat?” Dr. Slys asked, his voice barely strained despite the warmth enveloping his cock with every thrust.

White Hat, on the other hand, had long since lost himself in the pleasure. HIs eyes had rolled up to the top of his head, his tongue hanging out as he panted. His legs suddenly locked around Dr. Slys, trying to pull him closer.

“Y-Yes~” White Hat gasped more than said, arching into the movements. “L-love, love y-you~”

Dr. Slys made a low humming sound, shifting to loom over Hats body as he thrust into that warm… he supposed it was a vagina, though it had teeth on the sides and a tongue, and what felt like little tentacles on the inside massaging his cock. Slys didn’t consider Hat biting his dick off to be likely, he wasn’t kinky enough.

“What would you do for me, if I asked you?” Slys asked, running a hand down Hat’s cheek. The physical contact made Hat shudder, made his eyes a little more glassy. “Could you prove you loved me as much as I loved you?”

“A-anything~” White Hat promised, pressing into Slys hand with what sounded like a purr.  “W-would~”

“Good~” Slys purred, holding Hat’s legs away from his own body to thrust into him harder. “No one else could do this for you, could they? Who _else_ would dare bed something so _dangerous_?”

Hat didn’t respond to that directly, instead moaning and arching under the onslaught of pleasure. Slys smirked under his bag, cupping the side of Hat’s face with his hand, his thumb running along the bottom of the monocle.

“Mine. And mine alone.” Slys muttered.

 

* **Half a year later** *

 

“Slys, I’m sorry…”

White Hat fidgeted in the doorway, holding a cup of coffee he’d hoped to use as a peace offering, seeing as the last one had gotten spilled when Slys had chucked it at White Hat’s head.

Slys didn’t respond, simply tweaking his newest invention and pointedly not acknowledge his boss… although, considering Dr. Slys had taken over most of the company responsibilities, maybe he shouldn’t bother thinking about Hat as the ‘boss’ anymore. Other than commercials and signing approval forms, Hat didn’t do anything.

He’d bring that up once he was done guilt tripping Hat.

White Hat stepped into the room, setting the mug down on a nearby table. Now that he wasn’t holding it anymore, he found himself fiddling with his hands. “... I wasn’t flirting with them Slys, I swear.”

Slys broke a beaker in his hands, but otherwise kept working. White Hat flinched back, glancing down.

“Slys, please, talk to me!” White Hat begged, stepping closer. “I don’t know what _happened_. If those girls were flirting with me, I didn’t pick up on it, I-”

Dr. Slys smashed a beaker on the ground, spinning around and slapping White Hat. The demon couldn’t _really_ be hurt by anything Slys did, a fact they both knew well, but the action was enough to snap White Hat’s face to the side, who suddenly shoved Slys away from him.

Slys hit the table, rattling the devices and beakers on top, before collapsing to the floor. White Hat gasped, rushing to help Slys up only to be slapped away.

“Don’t _touch_ me!” Slys snapped, glaring at White Hat. Perfect. “Just… _LEAVE_ me alone!”

White Hat flinched back, teleporting out of the room and leaving Slys to pick himself up. Said man had no trouble getting to his feet, stretching out while he checked out the state of his work. Nothing important broken. Good. He took his time cleaning up the debris before making his way out of the blimp and back into the penthouse, cradling one of his arms gently.

He found White Hat in his room, sobbing on his bed. Pathetic.

“Hat.” He muttered, catching the attention of the demon. He wasted no time in making his way across the room- though he did so slowly, as if trying to avoid aggravating an injury. Hat didn’t move a muscle as Slys crawled into the bed next to him, gently stroking Hat’s cheek.

“This keeps happening.” he sighed. “Everytime you go out, somebody starts something with you, and you completely miss it.” he shook his head. “Do you have _any_ idea what it’s like to watch that sort of thing?” he asked his voice breaking.

“Slys…” White Hat muttered, holding onto his scientist with one arm and cupping his cheek with the other.

“Maybe… maybe you could at least tell me when you go out?”

  
  


“He doesn't love you.”

White Hat jerked to a stop, careful not to spill any of Dr. Slys coffee, head whipping around in surprise to where Black Hat was leaning against a balcony window, in the one dark part of the room, arms crossed. White Hat blinked, a moment of silence passing through them. Why his brother was so edgy and dramatic all the time, he’d never understand.

“It’s obvious.” Black Hat carried on. “He controls your life. Who you are allowed to see. He _hits_ you.”

“No, he dosen't.” White Hat snapped back, maybe just a touch too quickly. If he was talking about all of those, or one of them, was left in the air.

Black Hat’s eye slowly traveled over White Hat’s face as he stepped out of the shadows, mouth a thin line.

“Then where did you get that bruise?”

White Hat hissed under his breath, tugging the coat of his collar up a little higher in a poorly made attempt to hide the vaguely hand shaped bruise on his cheek. Just another few minutes, and it would have healed itself away. It was his fault he’d gotten it, anyhow.

“Fight with a villain. You know how they get.” White Hat lied.

Something dark passed through Black Hat’s face, too quick to catch if you didn’t know him, before he got closer to his brother, mouth forming a scowl.

“White, don’t lie to me.” he said, voice just a touch uneven. “A villain did _not_ break in here and fight you in the last ten minutes. Slys hits you. For _badness_ sake, you’re practically his butler!” Black Hat snarled, hand lashing out and grabbing one of White Hat’s wrists, pulling it from the mug.

In a flash of emotion, anger bubbled to his mind because Black Hat just _didn’t understand_ , didn’t _feel_ what White Hat felt didn’t _know_ , and without thinking, without pause his hand shifted into claws, ripping from Black Hat’s grip and slashing diagonally down his brothers chest.

White Hat’s eyes widened, his claws twitching a little and pulling further apart as if that would cleanse the black blood from his fingers. A few drops did loosen, falling to the floor in four small, almost inaudible _pinks_. The silence that followed, no screams, no yelps or gasps of pain, nearly deafened him.

Black Hat stumbled back, a gloved hand going to his own chest in surprise. He looked down at himself, slowly lifting his eye to White Hat’s face. White Hat couldn’t read the expression on his brothers face, maybe because of the tears welling and overflowing in his own eye.

“When you're ready to talk,” Black Hat snapped his fingers, his cane appearing on command. “You know where to find me.”

“... I’m sorry.” White Hat said to the empty room.

His hands were trembling, and White Hat was nearly surprised he was still holding Slys’ coffee in his free hand. He gulped, shutting his eye for a moment in an attempt to regain control of himself, before giving up and heading to his room, where Slys would be waiting.

He paused outside the doorway, dragging his clean hand down his face before pushing open the door, stepping into his room.

“What happened?” Slys asked, before White Hat even had a moment to speak.

White Hat didn’t say anything as he set the mug on the bedside table, sitting on the mattress next to Slys and slouched forward, burying his face in his hands as he let out a broken sob.

He explained everything as Slys listened, watching White Hat behind unreadable goggles and his mask. By the time White Hat had finished, Slys had White Hat’s hands in his own.

“Of course you hurt him.” Slys stated simply, like it was an ordinary fact. “Two powerful, demonic creatures get into a fight, and one of them ends up hurt. You’re dangerous, Hat. These things are bound to happen.”

That made White Hat feel _worse_. He shuddered and pulled himself closer to Slys, pressing into the humans side. Thankfully, the man allowed it.

“... what if I hurt you?” White Hat asked, voice a whisper.

“I have a solution.” Slys replied, voice even while his smile filled his face, unseen as always.

 

***One week later***

 

White Hat rubbed at his face, not all that surprised to find it wet with tears.

He was surprised at how… _numb_ he felt. He hadn’t expected this when he’d first made his decision, he’d assumed… there would have been conflict, he would have had some kind of internal struggle. Instead, all he’d felt was a dim acceptance as he slipped those drugs into Dr. Slys morning coffee.

At some point he’d left and headed for his brother’s mansion. He hadn’t kept the best track of time since then. And now, here he was.

The gate in front of him was normal enough, if you didn’t compare it to the fences of the normal houses in the cul-de-sac stretching around the hat-shaped mansion. White Hat lifted a hand to one of the black bars, moments before a little scanner suddenly popped out of the sidewalk, scanning him from toe to top of his hat.

The little screen beeped with an outline of White Hat on it, turning green before it disappeared into the ground. The gate swung itself open, giving White Hat the impression he’d just passed some kind of test- maybe because it had confused him for his brother.

The sidewalk up to the house weaved side to side slightly, a strange choice that White Hat choose to ignore it as he made a straight path towards the front door, walking between grass and concrete as he did so. He didn’t waste time knocking, letting himself in before the door closed behind him.

His eyes rose to the ceiling, wondering if there were any cameras nearby. If he still had his-

… before he could have simply sensed them. As it was, he no longer knew if he could trust that nobody was watching him.

“White Hat?”

White Hat snapped his gaze down, where a confused Dr. Flug- as confused as you could look when you had a paper bag on your head, stood in the doorway. He’d probably heard someone entering the house as he passed by and come to investigate.

“What are you- uh, are you here to see your brother?” Flug asked, stepping forward into the room. For whatever reason, the question suddenly made everything he’d done- drugging Slys, running away, showing up unexpectedly at his brothers home… weigh down on him all at once.

A little too much.

He stumbled backwards, his back hitting the door with a loud slam as his legs gave out under him, his arms wrapping around his body as he let out a sob he hadn’t realized was trapped in his chest.

Dimly, he was aware that Flug was asking him if he was alright. He tilted his head forwards, hiding his face behind the brim of his hat. He couldn’t seem to stop crying, even enough to just ask Flug if Black Hat was even home. His emotions were crushing him, nearly suffocating him, like he was suddenly under an ocean-

Arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a red and black chest. White Hat curled against the other demon, shuddering.

“What happened?” Black Hat asked, voice lowered in rarely heard concern.

White Hat took in a deep breath, trying to find his voice again.

“Do you… do you remember what you told me about Slys?” he asked, his voice nearly a whisper.

White Hat could feel his brother tense up, shutting his own eyes tightly.

“You were…” White Hat paused, gulping softly. “You were right, he sees me as a t-tool…”

Black Hat pulled him close, nearly squashing his brother as White Hat heard him curse softly. “What happened, White?” Black Hat asked.

White Hat tugged the edge of his coat down, revealing the thick metal collar around his neck. He heard several gasps, stiffening as he realized more people had entered the room, but went on.

“I’m… I’m cut off from my powers.” White Hat explained. “He… Dr. Slys, he… somehow, he made something, something that…” for a moment, he was unsure how to say it. “Makes me mortal.” he decided on.

He glanced up, enough to see the concern stamped on his brother's face, and a touch of anger.

“Maybe I…” Flug spoke up, White Hat turning his head to see the scientist draw closer, examining the collar. “I could try and remove it, or analyze it at the least.”

“No.” Black Hat snarled.

Flug recoiled, looking remarkably shocked. How someone could display so much emotion with a bag over his head was beyond White Hat, it was certainly never something he saw with…

“But Sir!” Flug protested, gesturing at White Hat. “Surely we need-”

“ _Nobody_ touches it.” Black Hat snarled, interrupting. He stood, helping his brother up along the way. “He’s never getting anywhere near you again, White.” Black Hat nearly whispered, supporting his brother for a moment before letting the other demon stand on his own.

“YEAH!” shouted a girl that vaguely looked-Demencia? Dementia? Something like that. “Nobody's gonna lay a finger on you, Black Hat-lookalike!”

As if to emphasize this point, she pulled a mace out of what looked to be her hair and swung it around, nearly taking off Flugs head before propping against her shoulder, giving a wide, crazed looking grin. Remarkably, White Hat felt a touch more safe.

Something bumped his arm, causing White Hat to jerk as he looked down. A blue bear- literally, a bear that was blue… 505, probably, was nudging his arm, giving him a friendly looking look. After a moment, White Hat reached up a hand, patting 505’s head with a small smile. What a nice bear.

“We’ll have to get you a room to stay in, and something to eat.” Black Hat mused. “If you're cut off from your powers, you’ll need energy… have you been eating right since…?”

White Hat shrugged. “I ate what I was told to eat… it, um, never quite felt like enough.”

Demencia hopped forward, smiling brightly. “Don’t worry, I’m going to show you the _wonders_ of instant pancakes and a few bottles of syrup!” she chirped, bouncing on the heels of her feet. White Hat might have smiled at her abundance of energy, if she hadn’t grabbed his still free arm.

A yelp of pain was ripped from White Hat, startling Demencia into letting go and back up, White Hat clutching his arm in reflex. Surprise was clear across all four faces, before Black Hat stepped forward.

“Show me.” Black Hat ordered, gaze locked on the injured arm. White Hat paused for a moment, then shrugged his coat off that shoulder, lowering it enough to show off the wound, his shirt still ripped around the jagged cut.

“He, um, he wanted blood to test…” White Hat muttered, Black Hat stepping forward and gently handling the arm.

“Bandages, as well then.” Black Hat added to his previous list. “Do you have any other injuries?”

White Hat opened his mouth, shutting it again and looking unsure, eye dropping to the floor. Black Hat frowned at this, lifting White Hat’s chin slightly to catch his attention. “Now’s not the time to keep things from me, White. Tell me.” Black Hat said, eye narrowing slightly. Even he was only so gentle.

White Hat flinched, looking down again and muttering low enough his voice was barely a whisper.

“He… Slys, once I was powerless, um, he was… rougher, with me…” White Hat fidgeted with his fingers, clearly uncomfortable talking about this. A moment later, it clicked with everyone else in the room.

“Oh that ASSHOLE, I’m going to kill him!” Demencia snarled, running out of the house with her mace… despite the fact White Hat doubted she had any idea where Dr. Slys was.

“It’s alright White, you’re safe here.” Black Hat promised, voice soft again. A moment later Demencia came back, looking defeated.

“I didn’t know where the Slys guy lives, so I crushed a neighbors mailbox.” she explained. “But just wait until I get my hands on him!”

“Flug,” Black Hat began, ignoring Demencia for now. “Take White Hat to the lab and bandage him up. 505, prepare a room. North section, three doors down from mine. And Demencia,” he turned his attention to the girl. “Let’s talk brutality.”

White Hat didn’t hear the rest of that conversation. He didn’t want to. Instead he let Flug lead him to his lab, which White Hat was half sure was inside the plane sticking out of the mansion. They had gone up a lot, and this place had plane doors.

He was asked to sit on an examination table while Flug rummaged through a med kit, muttering to himself about what he should use and whether or not any of the medicine would have a negative effect on White Hat’s body.

What he did bring back was a medicine that stung slightly, then something that numbed his wound. He proceeded to get a needle and thread, sewing his cut closed with a skilled hand before wrapping soft bandages around his arm.

“T-That should work,” Flug muttered, glancing up. “Do you mind if, I um, check out the rest of your body?” he asked.

White Hat simply nodded. “You’re the doctor. Go ahead.”

Well, he was aware Flug wasn’t _that_ kind of doctor, but he seemed to know about fixing arms, at least.

At the very least, nothing else seemed to have any lasting damage, and Flug promised he was clean, so the clone wouldn’t have had anything.

“Do you need help getting to your room?” Flug asked, while White Hat was finishing redressing by putting his coat back on. Flug pulled back a little, looking shocked with himself. How did he _do_ that, look so expressive with a bag on his head? Slys wore his bag like a mask, with Flug it was almost a second face. “Oh, um, of course you do, you don’t know where it is yet.”

Flug shook his head, gesturing for White Hat to follow. “I’ll just… show you the way now. Come on.”

White Hat followed Flug out of the room, immediately thankful for Flug’s help. They went through countless corridors and through several rooms, to the point White Hat would have gotten lost if he’d tried to find it himself. He did recall that it was ‘three doors down’ from his Black Hat’s room.

Once they got there White Hat entered the room, laying on the bed and simply staring at the ceiling. He was vaguely sure he should be sleeping now.

“I’ll tell the others you’re resting for now.” Flug promised. “You can get a bite to eat once you wake up, okay?”

White Hat nodded, watching as Flug left and rolled over in bed.

 

* **12 hours later** *

 

By the time White Hat entered the kitchen, the rest of the house had already gotten up. Or maybe they’d never gone to sleep in the first place. He didn’t quite know, to be honest. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d laid in that bed awake before his body fell asleep under him.

“Morning, White Hat!” Demencia chirped, having learned his name at some point. She was holding a pan and flipping a pancake on it, a too high stack already besides her. He recalled what she’d said about instant pancake mix.

“Sleep well?” Black Hat asked, leaning against the counter as he drank from a cup of tea. For some reason, seeing his brother in such a casual setting was a surprise to White Hat. Perhaps… he should visit more, in the future. He gave a shrug in response. Most nights were restless.

Black Hat frowned briefly, then gestured to a stool near the island nearby. “Have a seat, Demencias made breakfast.”

White Hat sat on the offered stool, lowering his gaze to the counter and tracing the faint patterns in the marbletop. He sighed to himself, rubbing his eye. He didn’t feel very rested, despite having gotten what he was sure counted as a full night's sleep.

“Tired?” Demencia chirped, appearing at his side and sliding a mug to him, which stopped just in front of his face. White Hat took it on reflex, glancing up and jolting when he discovered the brownish, lightly steaming liquid inside. The smell itself was unmistakable.

It was just coffee- he liked coffee, he- it was, Slys-

His mind smashed back to the penthouse, the smell of coffee nearly making him sick as he struggled to stay grounded. Panic seized him, his mind shattering like the cup on the floor, distant yelling calling his name but he couldn’t- White Hat jerked back as _he_ touched White’s arm.

“I’m sorry!” he yelped, curling into himself to make his body smaller, throwing his hands up to protect his face. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!”

He could almost feel Dr. Slys gaze piercing him, burrowing under his skin and making him feel like a worm. It was- he shouldn’t have run- he was in trouble, he’d just make Slys upset, he couldn’t think-

More yelling, someone telling him to _breathe_ \- that he was _hyperventilating_ \- he was _safe_ \- but White Hat couldn’t focus, couldn’t do anything- he couldn’t move, he- something- he clung to something warm and soft and _safe_ , distinctly aware he was sobbing-

He- he was…

White Hat-

Where-

….

He was moving.

No… something he was on was moving. Soft swaying motions, back and forth… up and down, actually. He uncurled a hand gently, releasing strains of blue grass-fur, that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He pet it gently, enjoying the way the fur rumbled under him… purring like an engine…

He shifted his head to the side gently, his eye following his other arm before settling on his hand, held between two palms. White Hat moved his gaze up, finding Black Hat at the end of the other set of arms. A concerned look was on his brothers face, though White Hat just felt-

Wet. His face was wet. And he felt empty, spent, out of energy. He raised his eye farther, recognizing 505 as the source of the blue fur he was pressed into. Shifting cramped muscles led him to discover he was being held. He was still trying to place himself, something in mind mind trying and failing to wake up. He should feel… something.

He did feel… scared? No… little twitches, here and there, but he… he was safe… White Hat pressed back into that wall of fur, taking in a slow, steady breath, letting the air out of his lung just as slowly. He felt like water was coursing down his body as he started registering _feeling_ again.

He took another breath and turned his head away 505’s fur, discovering Demencia was crouching on the counter and Flug was-

“Where’s Flug?” White Hat asked, surprised by how soft his voice sounded. It was a little jarring, to hear himself sound so…

“He left.” Demencia answered, her head lolling to the side as she watched him. “Awhile ago. You freaked out when he got near you, so he left the room.” she shrugged. “It was, I dunno, 20, 25 minutes ago?”

White Hat paused, glancing at her in surprise. Half an hour of… was that a panic attack? Or?

He glanced down, discovering the coffee he’d dropped had already been cleaned up, and he didn’t seen anymore coffee around the kitchen.

“O-Oh….” he muttered.

“White.” Black Hat spoke up, catching his brother's attention. “Are you alright?”

White Hat paused, biting his lip as he turned the question over in his mind. Was he ever really alright anymore? Sometimes it felt like Slys had broken something inside of himself, and White Hat was never quite sure he’d ever get that bit fixed.

“I’m fine.” He decided, glancing at 505 with a smile. “You can put me down now.”

Once he was back on his feet, White Hat took a breath and ran his hand over his face, surprised to find no tears. He recalled how wet his face had felt earlier, but is must have gotten dried rubbing on 505’s fur.

“Dr. Flug can come back in now.” White Hat said, looking up to the room. “I’m… better now. I’ll be fine.”

Demencia and Black Hat shared a look, the girl nodding before jumping off the counter and out the door, returning a moment later with Flug in tow.

“Oh, um, hello, White Hat. Are you feeling better?” Flug asked, fiddling with his lab coat. White Hat gave him a nod in return, and a small smile, hoping to be reassuring.

“Soooooooooo…” Demenica smiled, throwing her arm over Flug’s shoulder. “Pancakes for everyone?”

“Can’t.” Flug responded. “Black Hat and I need to get to a weapons drop off. We shouldn’t be long, we can have the pancakes after, though.” he offered.

“ _Shit_.” Black Hat swore, clearly having forgotten the event. “Fine. Do you have the device?”

Flug nodded, removing a ray gun from his coat that was too big to have been in there. “Ready, Sir.”

“This should only take an hour, give or take.” Black Hat informed his brother. “Will you be alright in that time?”

White Hat nodded. He didn’t see what would happen within an hour that he couldn’t handle… he was sure he’d gone through the worst of today.

“We’ll be back soon, I promise.” Flug promised, stepping closer to Black Hat, shadows rose around them, covering the two before they disappeared.

White Hat glanced at Demencia, a little unsure what to do now. 505 made a bear noise, waddling over to to the stack of pancakes, picking up the tray and putting them on the central table. Demenica plopped down a few plates, starting to separate the stack onto them.

“So…” a paused, Demencia pouring way too much syrup onto his pancakes. “I didn’t know Black Hat had siblings.”

Oh. Did that mean Black Hat never mentioned him?

“I suppose I haven't really visited much…” he began after a moment. “Though my brother is _much_ more well known than I am. I’m normally better known within the inner hero circles.” he explained.

“Heroes?” Demencia’s eyebrow rose in surprise. “Wait, you’re a hero? Wow, no wonder you don’t get along with your brother.”

White Hat’s lips pulled into a thin line. Sure, they didn’t always see eye to eye, but…

“I wouldn’t say that. We’re family, after all.” White Hat shrugged. “Besides, people fight sometimes. It’s normal.”

“Yeah, but you _attacked_ him. I saw the wounds when he got home, they took awhile to heal.” she explained. “He said you lashed out at him.”

White Hat ducked his head, poking a pancake with a fork.

“... I was upset. Not thinking clearly. Overwhelmed. That sort of thing makes you lash out.” White Hat said.

Demencia, who was in the middle of stuffing her face with pancakes, paused long enough to swallow.

“Does Slys lash out like that when he’s upset?” she asked.

The question was direct enough it caught White Hat by surprise. He had to stop for a moment, and think back to all this times he’d been hit. How it had only happened more and more as time had gone on. He’d just… gotten used to it. He opened his mouth to respond, but-

What he was going to say was cut short by an alarm blaring through the mansion, making all three of them jolt in surprise. Distinctly, White Hat was half sure he heard an explosion around the same time the alarm started.

“Your collars blinking.” Demencia noticed.

White Hat’s hand felt to his collar, shock writing itself across his face. Panic bubbled in the back of his mind, threatening to spill over to the rest of his mind a second time. 505 was suddenly there, holding onto him. He buried himself in the bear's fur, attempting to steady his breathing.

Demencia pulled a battle axe out from under the table, standing.

“We’ll take care of this. Bear?” Demencia glanced at 505. “Let’s go. We have a doctor's appointment.”

She bounced from the room, 505 giving White Hat one last hug and making sure he was okay before following after on all fours. A sense of unease washed over his body the second they left, and after a tense moment he rose to follow them.

He headed in the general direction that he’d heard the explosion, nearly immediately having no idea where he was going. Just as he was trying to decide between a split in the hallway, he heard what sounded like a bear roaring down the leftmost hall, quickening his pace as he followed the sound.

“505?” White Hat gasped, standing in the doorway to what looked like a study, a hole blasted into the back wall. The room was otherwise empty, White Hat rushing to the bear’s side and falling to his knees, reaching a hand out to his back. He was still breathing normally, but there was blood pooling under him and White Hat couldn’t see the source.

“I wonder why they didn’t just scrap it.”

White Hat jumped, spinning around as he attempted to block 505’s body with his own. Dr. Slys was between him and the doorway, holding a blaster in one hand and a bone saw in the other.

“The memories I have from Dr. Flug are all so… faded. I don’t quite recall what it would have been like to be him.” Dr. Slys stepped forward, his voice calm. “Still, I’d think I’d get rid of such an obvious mistake and start anew.”

A growl, weak as it was, ripped itself free from White Hat’s throat. Perhaps he’d taken a little more than he should have from Slys, but the thought of him harming 505 boiled his blood. He shakingly stood, standing his ground.

“What do you want, Slys?” he snarled, hands curling into fists.

“I want my things back. What else?” Slys asked, unconcerned with White Hat’s show of backbone. He lifted the gun, aiming it at White Hat as it began to hum.

“Perhaps I moved a tad too quickly near the end. Another month or two, and you would have accepted the collar without complaint.” he stated. “You might have thanked me, even, for providing a way to keep your powers under control.”

“I _had_ control!” White Hat snarled, taking a step forward. “Until _YOU_ told me otherwise.”

Slys watched him, his expression blocked by the bag as always, before he lowered his gun and stepped forward.

“Go ahead then.” Slys urged. “Hurt me, if you’re going to. Attack me.”

White Hat froze, looking Slys body up and down as he tried to figure out what was going on. “... what?”

Slys chuckled. “Get your revenge. Hurt me like I hurt you.”

Slys stepped forward, a hand going to White Hat’s cheek. Even with the glove on, the touch made him weak kneed, his confidence melting out of his body and pooling at the floor.

“... Good boy.” Slys purred.

Suddenly, without warning, a flash of green and red smacked into Slys from the ceiling, followed by a scream of pain. As Demencia rolled off the Doctor, White Hat realized that the bonesaw had dug into Slys side, blood gushing from the wound.

The blade free’d itself as Slys shifted upwards, clattering to the floor. A moment later Slys bundled up the side of his lab coat and shoved it into his side, attempting to stop the bleeding before he died.

White Hat had no idea what to do, powerless to help.

“505!” Demencia yelped, darting towards the bear and rolling him over. Thankfully, it looked like he just had a bad cut on his paw, and from the looks of things had just been knocked out somehow.

There was a flurry of movement, and suddenly Dr. Slys had darted around them, bolting for the open wall. Demencia followed close, but wasn’t fast enough to stop Slys from jumping out the window, something grey and fast bolting past and collecting Slys.

White Hat fell to his knees, slumping over 505’s body. All the energy out of his body was gone, leaving him drained.

For one brief, but powerful moment, White Hat _missed_ Slys.

 

They returned in half an hour, rather than the full hour.

Black Hat and Flug burst into the lab, Flug immediately going to 505’s side. Demencia had already done a fairly decent job bandaging his paw, though Flug fretted over him anyways.

White Hat didn’t know if they’d gotten an alert about the alarms going on or if they were able to wrap things up quicker than planned, but they did seem to know _something_ had happened. White Hat ended up explaining what happened, watching his brothers face get darker and darker.

“Flug!” Black Hat snapped suddenly. “Pull up security footage for outside the mansion, and find me a map.”

 

* **soon** *

 

Dr. Slys stumbled down the hall, one hand tracing the old bricks to his right as he the other held onto his side, keeping the blood in while he worked his way to his lab.

He was smart enough not to stay in the penthouse, or take the blimp anywhere. He’d obtained the rights to this humble bungalow months ago, without Hat even knowing. He would need a new plan, something new… he wasn’t sure he’d get the chance he’d just botched again. He’d keep listening to the microphone on the collar and-

“Dr. Slys.”

Slys had the gun out and pointed at the speaker before he’d even finished pronouncing the ‘ly’ sound in his name. Black Hat looked amused, stepping into the hall as the door behind him slammed shut, cutting off a good portion of available light. Slys narrowed his eyes, watching him for any tricks while his other hand slipped into his back pocket.

“Black Hat… to what do i owe the pleasure?” Slys asked, venom dripping from his voice. Not that he was unhappy. On the contrary, Slys was overjoyed to have eldritch in his sights, but he couldn’t let that little detail slip out now, could he?

A hand twitched to the pocket hidden in his coak, pausing as he failed to find the-

“ _Looking_ for something?” Black Hat asked lifting up the spare control collar. Slys eyes flicked to the collar, to Black Hat’s face, before he fired at the demon several times.

Black Hat twisted his body, shifting into a mass of teeth and tentacles as the shots passed right through holes in his body, launching himself at Slys. He wrapped around the man, slamming him into the wall before reeling back and shoving him into the ceiling, following by the floor.

He let go of Slys, grabbing the gun and tossing it aside, returning to his form and grabbing Slys’ shirt and pulling back his other hand, curling the fingers into a fist and _punching_ Slys. That felt _good_.

Slys coughed, blood sputtering from his lips. That didn’t seem good. He raised his eyes to Black Hat’s face again, noting his goggles were cracked.

“So, what now?” Slys wheezed. “Are you going to kill me? That won’t undo what I’ve done to Hat, you know.”

Black Hat growled, slapping Slys. “Shut! Up!” he snapped.

Slys laughed inside, spitting a tooth out of his mouth and onto the floor alongside a splatter of blood. “Can’t take the truth, can you?” Slys chuckled darkly. “Hat was weak anyways. Desperate for a kind touch. Any idiot could have done what I could.”

“I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU WHEN YOU WERE MADE!” Black Hat snarled, rearing back and smashing his fist into Slys jaw. A tooth hit the floor with a small pool of blood, Slys whole body shuddering.

“.... But you d-didn’t” Slys spat back. “You- you h-hand gifted me to H-Hat, didn’t y-you?”

Black Hat froze, fist pulled back as if to strike Slys again.

“In fact,” Slys continued. “You _made_ me for him, you _wanted_ so badly for me to be a wimp. But you couldn’t admit that, could you? Couldn’t admit to your own brother you _cared_ about him, you had to claim I was a mistake. Are you ever going to tell him? Tell him that you made his worst nightmare out of _love_?”

Black Hat smashed his fist into Slys jaw, hard enough that the bone cracked under his fist.

“SHUT UP!” he snarled, punching Slys again and again, sharp tentacles piercing Slys’ body. “SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!”

He only stopped once Slys was a bloodied pulp, his body limp and lifeless below his onslaught. Black Hat snarled, shaking with rage before tentacles searched every inch of Slys body, searching for a key but finding nothing. Black Hat then chucked the body down the hallway, throwing a fireball after it, burning Slys’ remains to ash. It didn’t make him feel much better. The house was starting to catch as well.

Black Hat wasted no time finding the lab, tearing through it. He found blueprints of the collar, and then the key to unlock it. The blueprints confirmed what he thought… it was a good thing they hadn’t attempted to open it.

Key in hand, he abandoned the house and let it _burn_.

 

* **One year later** *

 

Once everything had been… resolved, White Hat hadn’t quite been sure what he should do.

The penthouse… held too many bad memories, and he’d sold it off. After that, Black Hat had offered to let White Hat stay in the mansion until he got things worked out. He ended up staying there for half a year as he had his own home built on the edge of Hat island, overlooking the ocean. It was a modern home, which seemed to mean sharp lines and white bricks by white walls and the occasional splash of color by adding birch wood.

After that, he moved into his home and just… lived there. He wasn’t sure if he’d keep his company, or if he’d hire anyone else to take Slys place.

Demencia and 505 visited fairly regularly, supposedly to get them out of Black Hat’s way as he worked, thought White Hat felt it was secretly a way to keep an eye on him. Every now and then, his brother or Flug would even tag along.

He found his new scientist entirely by accident.

I was considered a tragedy by the worldwide news, to discover one of the world's most famous heroes had…

General Strongarm had been discovered to be cheating civilians out of tax dollars, taking stolen money from villains he defeated and claimed it to be lost, blackmailing his fellow heroes to keep them quiet, the list went on and on.

But what stood out to White Hat was the paragraph about how he’d abused his workers, including a scientist that rumors said he’d been dating. He’d felt… a stab of kinship with the man. He’d reached out and offered Vaskur a job working for his company.

He hadn’t expected Vaskur to accept, but he had. So suddenly, White Hat found himself running his company once more.

Vaskur had been muted by Strongarm, his throat cut just enough to damage his vocal cords. Neither of them knew sign language, and Vaskur had started by writing everything down, but they agreed to learn sign language together. White Hat also realized Vaskur would shake when a door slammed in the house, and he learned to close the doors lightly and added a padding to the frames so they were quieter. He himself still couldn’t drink coffee, and Vaskur stuck to tea.

There was an unspoken understanding between them, even before they’d shared more details about their pasts. Occasionally the memories of their past weighed too heavily on one of them and they fell into a dark place. It was always the other that brought them back, when 505 wasn’t around to help.

White Hat wasn’t as touch starved as he had once been, now that 505 could visit and give him hugs, but Vaskur couldn’t handle physical touch. White Hat had been hurt by words, but Vaskur had to face Strongarm’s fists to keep him controlled. White Hat was careful not to touch him, giving him the space he needed.

Things between them developed slowly, jaggedly. Neither were prepared for another relationship, weren't ready for anything so soon. But days turned to weeks, weeks to months, months to another year, and they watched the world spin on together. Things got… better. They never could quite go back to what they’d been before, Vaskur more so.

And suddenly, one day, they slipped into something else without realizing it.

White Hat wasn’t sure when he’d noticed. If he had to chose one event that had been on a day when he’d simply been adjusting cards on the table, with hand movements and their meaning, when Vaskur had placed his hand onto White’s. White Hat's eyes flicked up to the others face, shocked.

Vaskur had looked a touch unsure, watching White Hat’s face for his reaction. A lump grew in his throat as the weight of the action settled on him, an understanding of how much Vaskur trusted him. About how much this little touch meant.

He didn't pressed for more. He waited until Vaskur was comfortable to hold his hand, both unsure as the moment passed, but...

Somehow, they knew things were going to be okay.


End file.
